Expression levels of caspase-3 and gasdermin E and their involvement in the occurrence and prognosis of lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Pyroptosis plays a dual role in the development of cancer and malignancy; as such, it may potentially be a new target for cancer treatment. However, the inflammatory response to pyroptosis may have adverse effects on the body. The roles of gasdermin E (GSDME), caspases, and related proteins associated with pyroptosis in cancer remain controversial. AIM: The goal of this study was to determine whether the expression levels of caspase-3 and GSDME affect the clinical stage, pathological grade, or survival prognosis of patients with lung cancer. METHODS: We examined the protein levels of GSDME, caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 in lung tissue samples from 100 patients with lung cancer by using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: We found that GSDME, caspase-3, and caspase-8 were more highly expressed in tumor tissues than in adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, we found that GSDME could serve as a prognostic factor as there was a positive correlation between its expression level and the postoperative survival rate of patients with lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: GSDME may be an independent factor affecting the prognosis of patients with lung cancer. However, the role of GSDME and its related proteins in cancer requires further research.

Prenatal exposure of staphylococcal enterotoxin B attenuates the development and function of blood regulatory T cells to repeated staphylococcal enterotoxin B exposure in adult offspring rats.

Introduction. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is an extensively studied super-antigen. A previous study by us suggested that SEB exposure during pregnancy could alter the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood of neonatal offspring rats.Aim. It is unknown whether SEB exposure during pregnancy can influence the development of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the peripheral blood of neonatal offspring rats.Methodology. Pregnant rats at gestational day 16 were intravenously injected with 15 µg SEB. Peripheral blood was acquired from neonatal offspring rats on days 1, 3 and 5 after delivery and from adult offspring rats for determination of Treg number by cytometry, cytokines by ELISA, and FoxP3 expression by real-time PCR and western blot.Results. SEB given to pregnant rats significantly increased the absolute number of Tregs and the expression levels of FoxP3, IL-10 and TGF-ß (P<0.05, P<0.01) in the peripheral blood of not only neonatal but also adult offspring rats. Furthermore, repeated SEB exposure in adult offspring rats significantly decreased the absolute number of Tregs (P<0.01), and the expression levels of FoxP3, IL-10 and TGF-ß (P<0.05, P<0.01) in their peripheral blood.Conclusion. Prenatal SEB exposure attenuates the development and function of Tregs to repeated SEB exposure in the peripheral blood of adult offspring rats.